MSH staffers Melissa Wanda Kirowo and Kate Cho have been nominated for 120Under40: The New Generation of Family Planning Leaders.

MSH staffers Melissa Wanda Kirowo (Kenya) and Kate Cho (Arlington, Virginia) were nominated for the global 120 Under 40 Project by family planning colleagues for their substantial contributions to reproductive health at the national or local level. According to the 120 Under 40 website, an anonymous colleague nominated Kate, and colleagues from PATH, Family Health Options Kenya, and the Kenya Centre for the Study of Adolescence nominated Melissa.

A peer educator in Viwandani talks about mentorship of young boys in the slum at the video screening.Photo credit: APHRC

The video, Meeting the Needs of Urban Youth, tells the story of adolescents and service providers living in two slums in Nairobi, Kenya, and explores issues around access to sexual and reproductive health services in urban settings.
Produced by African Strategies for Health's partners, the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) and Management Sciences for Health (MSH), the video was recently screened at Viwandani and Korogocho, the two communities featured on the film.

Amy Boldosser-Boesch recalls feeling fortunate to have interned with Family Care International (FCI) when studying for her Master’s in International Affairs at Columbia University. Founded in 1986, FCI was the first international organization dedicated to maternal and reproductive health. Little did she know, in those early days of her career, that she would one day lead the organization.

Mary Gonera, midwife, led the Mucheke Community Health Center team that improved health service delivery and MNCH indicators in their community in Masvingo, Zimbabwe.Photo credit: Amref Health Africa

Many discussions on incorporating technology in the health field revolve around flashy mHealth tools which improve overall health information systems. Yet smaller scale use of mobile technology can be just as effective in supporting health workers in developing countries to overcome day-to-day challenges and effectively deliver health services, especially in rural communities.

Ministry of Health staff in Mozambique learn how to use Pharmadex for medicines registration management.Photo credit: SIAPS Mozambique

This story originally appeared on the Systems for Improved Access to Pharmaceuticals and Services (SIAPS) program website. SIAPS is funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by Management Sciences for Health (MSH).

Since 2003, with the support of international donors (namely the US Agency for International Development [USAID], World Bank, and European Union), Afghanistan’s Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) has worked with NGOs to implement two key health packages: the Basic Package of Health Services (BPHS), covering primary care services, and the Essential Package of Hospital Services (EPHS), covering secondary care needs. The implementing NGOs have produced internal pharmaceutical logistics reports for the commodities they deliver to their catchment provinces.

Last September, Novartis Access became the first industry program focused on the affordability and availability of medicines addressing key noncommunicable diseases (NCDs): cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, respiratory illnesses and breast cancer. Such chronic illnesses are a major and growing challenge in the developing world. Already today, 28 million people die each year from chronic diseases in lower-income countries – representing nearly 75% of deaths from NCDs globally.

"When I arrived in Liberia in early 2014,” says Management Sciences for Health's (MSH's) Kwabena Larbi, senior technical advisor with the National Malaria Control Program (NMCP), “I found there were a lot of malaria partners—the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI), Global Fund, international organizations, lots of NGOs… Each was more or less doing their own thing.”

The leaders of Management Sciences for Health and Save the Children USA, which are two partners of the No More Epidemics campaign, published a letter in today's Boston Globe. Dr. Jonathan Quick and Carolyn Miles wrote: